Crystal Beach Texas History:
The community of Patton Beach was located on the current townsite as early as 1900. The Patton Beach post office operated from 1898 to 1900. The town ceased being a railroad stop early 1940s, about the same time the town was renamed Crystal Beach. Crystal Beach incorporated in 1971, but in 1987 residents voted to rid themselves of the city government. The seven mile long town has approximately 1,600 year round residents, and many seasonal residents. It received severe damage from the September 2008 Hurricane Ike. Most homes sustained heavy damage. Nearly every home south of Ridgeway was completely destroyed. The town made headlines when a tiger took refuge from the storm in a church. Crystal Beach is located on SH 87 in the middle of the Bolivar Peninsula, 10 miles southwest of Gilchrist, 19 miles southeast of High Island, 9.7 miles northeast of Port Bolivar, and 16.4 miles northeast of Galveston, Texas.

Bolivar Peninsula:
The peninsula is a narrow strip of eroding land stretching 27 miles along the Texas Gulf Coast in a northeasterly direction. It is three miles wide at its widest point between Crystal Beach and Caplen, Texas. It is 0.25 miles wide at its narrowest point where Rollover Pass divides the town of Gilchrist. Less than three miles of water separate the southwestern end of the peninsula from Galveston Island which is located southwest of the peninsula. The body of water between the southwest end of Bolivar Peninsula and the northeast end of Galveston Island is named Bolivar Roads. Bolivar Roads serves as the marine entrance from the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston Bay. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway extends the length of the most northern side of the peninsula. Access to the Bolivar Peninsula by land is only possible through southern Chambers County (SH 124 from Winnie down to High Island). A free, 24 hour ferry runs between the most northeastern tip of Galveston Island and the most southwestern tip of Bolivar Peninsula at Port Bolivar. Towns on the peninsula include Gilchrist, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Port Bolivar and High Island.Much of the peninsula land is undeveloped and the state has severely restricted land use. Permitted beach activities include driving personal vehicles and golf carts on the beach, building reasonably sized bonfires, and camping near the dunes. Driving 4 wheelers on the beach is prohibited. Bolivar Beach Parking Stickers are required. Porta-potties are available at the convenience stores located on the highway.

Port Bolivar-Galveston Island Ferry on SH 87:
The ferry runs from Galveston Island to the town of Port Bolivar on the Bolivar Peninsula.
This free ferry operates every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day. The 2.7 mile trip takes approximately 18 minutes. The ferry operation consists of five boats, each of which can carry approximately 70 vehicles, 500 passengers and six crewmembers. Each ferry is capable of carrying eight 18-wheel trucks weighing 80,000 pounds each. All of the boats are double-ended with a pilothouse on each end; The Captain changes from one pilothouse to the other to go in the opposite direction. The ferries are named Bibb Gilchrist, R.C. Lanier, C.C. Greer, Ray Stoker, Jr., and the R.H. Deman. (409) 795-2230. Aerial Map